Dayton man accused of fatal ‘sucker-punch’ had previous convictions, reports say

Dayton police identified Antonio Tarag Deante Jackson Fountain as a suspect in the death of a Setters Volleyball Club security guard. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

Credit: Marshall Gorby

Credit: Marshall Gorby

Dayton police identified Antonio Tarag Deante Jackson Fountain as a suspect in the death of a Setters Volleyball Club security guard. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

A 36-year-old Dayton man who authorities say killed an employee at a local volleyball bar by “sucker punching” him once shot at another man and has been accused of other acts of violence, police reports and court records show.

Antonio Fountain is accused of striking a 60-year-old security guard Friday night at Setters Volleyball Club from behind, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head on the pavement, said Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns.

Antonio Fountain

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Fountain was taken into police custody on Tuesday and is expected to be charged in the death of Ronnie “Joe” Brown, who died from his injuries on Sunday, officials say. Jail records list his next court appearance at 1:45 p.m. Thursday.

Police and court records show that Fountain has been accused of violence and threats in the past.

In May 2020, Fountain pointed a gun at a man in a drive-thru business on North Main Street, and the man fled out the back of the store, a Dayton police report states.

Fountain followed him outside and fired multiple shots, but did not hit the fleeing man.

The victim said Fountain had accused him of disrespecting his wife, who had been in the store a short time earlier to complain that staff had mistreated her mother the night before, a police report states.

A Dayton police officer in the Oregon District. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

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Fountain was indicted on charges of felony assault with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm on or near prohibited premises and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, according to Montgomery County Common Pleas records of the case.

He was convicted of the discharging a firearm offense and was sentenced to five years of probation.

Dayton Police records include other complaints involving Fountain.

A report filed in 2014 accused Fountain of confronting a female driver on South Main Street and “sucker-punching” her through the driver’s side window. The report says Fountain and his passenger disputed the report.

An October 2021 report says two Dayton residents told police that Fountain harassed and threatened them after a domestic incident.

The adjudication of those two cases is not clear at this time.

Montgomery County Common Pleas Court records show that Fountain was convicted in 2015 of an amended charge of menacing in an incident that occurred in Trotwood. He was sentenced to probation.

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